Tiruchy corporation faces flak for barricading individual houses, apartments
TIRUCHY: Despite the criticism elsewhere against the barricading of individual houses, the Tiruchy City Corporation has embarked on the task of barricading the houses and apartments of COVID-19 patients restricting their movement.
Recently, the barricading of individual houses and flats in Bengaluru drew severe criticism from the activists, and this had compelled the commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to remove those barricades as they amounted to stigmatizing the COVID-19 patients. Apologizing for the individual barricading, BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad tweeted, "We are committed to addressing any issues that result in stigma. Apologies for the local enthusiasm of the local staff."
However, the Tiruchy city corporation that was hitherto barricading only the streets has, from Friday, started to barricading individual houses and apartments. With corrugated sheets, the corporation staffers are blocking the entrances of houses and apartments with virus-infected residents.
The corporation staff put an apartment in Vayalur road and a house RS Puram and JK Nagar as some of its residents were tested positive for Coronavirus. Apart from this, the civic body also put Rani Annadurai Street and Kaja Nagar street under containment zones.
These barricades would not allow the residents to come out of their houses even in case of an emergency. Some COVID-19 survivors said barricading individual houses will definitely add up to the stigma attached to the disease. A survivor said, "If a resident is infected, the whole family is suffering from the stigma due to the activities of the officials. Even I returned home after recovery, the public perception has not changed. If this is the reality, barricading houses and apartments will cause mental trauma to the residents. Think about if there are children in the barricaded houses. Moreover, how could they come out if there is an emergency such as a fire."
S Pushpavanam, a Tiruchy-based social activist, said, "It is a very uncivilized practice. The corporation should have stuck notice at the entrance of the houses and requested the inmates to self-isolate. Barricading a house will cause stigma among other residents in the street."
When contacted, corporation commissioner S Sivasubramaniam said that the officials have made all arrangements to supply essentials and medicines to the residents in the barricaded apartments and houses. When asked about the stigma and individual rights of the residents, he responded that he would ask the officials to remove those barricades at individual houses.